General context

Pierre Gerbet, Emeritus University Professor at the Paris Institute of Political Science, outlines the origins, powers and responsibilities, operating method and political development of the Council of Europe.

Peter Smithers, Member of the Consultative Assembly at the time of its constitution, and Secretary-General of the Council of Europe from 1964 to 1969, recounts the birth of the Council of Europe, conjuring up the enthusiastic atmosphere prevailing among the Members of the Assembly at that time.

In May 1948, under the Honorary Chairmanship of Winston Churchill, the Hague Congress calls for the convening of a European Assembly, the drafting of a Charter for Human Rights and the establishment of a Court of Justice responsible for ensuring its proper implementation.

At the end of the Congress of Europe held in The Hague in May 1948 by the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity, the participants adopt a Political Resolution calling for the convening of a European Assembly, the drafting of a Charter of Human Rights and the establishment a Court of Justice responsible for ensuring that the Charter is properly implemented.

On 18 August 1948, in the light of the French proposal based on the resolutions of the Hague Congress that a European Assembly be established and the request from the British Government for clarification on the subject, the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity submits a memorandum to the governments concerned outlining a series of specific proposals on the way in which such an Assembly might be convened.

At the 27th sitting of the Standing Committee of the Treaty of Brussels held in London on 2 September 1948, the representatives of the governments of the five Powers adopt a position on the memorandum from the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity, dated 18 August 1948, with a view to the establishment of a European Assembly.

In the light of the British Government’s differing interpretation of the memorandum from the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity dated 18 August 1948, the French Government sets out its views on the role and composition of the European Assembly in order to avoid any misunderstandings.

In a letter dated 15 October 1948, Jules Guillaume, Belgian Ambassador to France, informs the Belgian Foreign Minister, Paul-Henri Spaak, of the British Government’s rather reticent position on the Franco-Belgian proposal for the establishment of an Assembly of Western European countries.

The work of the European Union Working Committee

On 26 October 1948, the Consultative Council of the Brussels Treaty Powers decides to set up a ‘Committee for the Study of European Unity’, which will have its seat in Paris, to be responsible for reconciling the suggestions put forward by the French and Belgians, on the one hand, and by the British, on the other, with a view to establishing a closer union between the countries of Europe.

Communiqué published at the end of the third session of the Consultative Council of the Brussels Treaty Powers, held in Paris on 25 and 26 October 1948, at which a decision was taken to set up a committee to be responsible for reviewing the measures to be taken in order to achieve European unity.

The first plenary sitting of the Committee for the Study of European Unity, attended by delegations from the five signatory states to the Treaty of Brussels (Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), is held in Paris on 26 November 1948. At that sitting, the delegation chairmen set out their reasons for participating in the activities and set out their views on ‘European rapprochement’ in the hope of finding a tangible form for that concept during the proposed discussions.

The Committee for the Study of European Unity, created by decision of the Brussels Treaty Advisory Council, meets in Paris from November 1948 to January 1949, with the aim of conciliating the Franco-Belgian and British proposals to institutionalise European cooperation. On 27 November 1948, the British delegation submits to the Committee, for its second plenary session, a memorandum on the proposal for a Council of Europe.

The Committee for the Study of European Unity, created by decision of the Brussels Treaty Advisory Council, meets in Paris from November 1948 to January 1949, with the aim of conciliating the Franco-Belgian and British proposals to institutionalise European cooperation. On 30 November 1948, the French delegation submits to the Committee, for its third plenary session, a memorandum on the plan for a European Consultative Assembly, to which the Belgian delegation has given its provisional agreement.

At the fifth plenary sitting of the Committee for the Study of European Unity, held in Paris on 18 January 1949, the Netherlands delegate expresses his satisfaction at the substance of the Subcommittee’s report and hopes that the agreement will be formalised under the Consultative Council established by the Treaty of Brussels.

On 18 January 1949, the British Government, unable to endorse the draft constituent text for a European Union submitted on 15 January 1949 by the Sub-Committee of the Committee for the Study of European Unity, submits a fresh proposal, and the Committee’s deliberations end on 20 January without any agreement having been reached.

This article, published on 26 January 1949 in the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir on the eve of a meeting of the Brussels Treaty Council, explains the British Government’s reluctance to subscribe to the plan to create a European Ministerial Council and a Consultative Assembly, already approved by France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The establishment of the Council of Europe

At the fourth session of the Consultative Council of the Brussels Treaty Powers, held on 27 and 28 January 1949, the Foreign Ministers of the five Powers agree on the establishment of a Council of Europe consisting of a ‘ministerial committee’ and of a ‘consultative body’.

Following the deliberations of the Standing Committee of the Treaty of Brussels, its Secretary-General draws up a draft invitation to attend the preparatory conference of the Council of Europe, to be issued to the governments of Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Norway and Sweden.

On 5 May 1949 in St James’s Palace, London, the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty establishing the Council of Europe.

Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, delivers the inaugural address at the ceremony held to mark the signing of the Statute of the Council of Europe on 5 May 1949 in London. On this occasion, he declares that the new institution has given the peoples of Europe new hope.

On 5 May 1949, in London, the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom sign the Statute of the Council of Europe. It enters into force on 3 August 1949.

On 7 May 1949, commenting on the signing of the Treaty establishing the Council of Europe in London two days earlier, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the powers and the role of the Strasbourg institution.

On 3 August 1949, the Head of the Treaty Department of the British Foreign Office delivers a certificate on the entry into force of the Statute of the Council of Europe on behalf of the Government of the United Kingdom, depositary of the instruments of ratification.

General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe, signed in Paris on 2 September 1949 and coming into force on 10 September 1952. According to Article 1 of the Agreement, the Council of Europe possesses juridical personality.

The evolution of the Council of Europe

On 16 April 1956, the day of Austria's accession to the Council of Europe, Leopold Figl, Austrian Foreign Minister, and Bruno Kreisky, State Secretary, attend a meeting of the organisation's Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg for the first time.

Published on 21 April 1959 in the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir to mark the tenth anniversary of the Council of Europe, this article describes how the organisation was founded under the patronage of eminent European political figures. After emphasising the influence of the Consultative Assembly in promoting the European idea and the work of the Committee of Ministers in drafting conventions, the article’s author gives the European Convention on Human Rights a special mention as the most remarkable achievement of the Council of Europe.

On 5 May 1989, the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers adopts a Declaration which marks a turning point in the organisation’s history. In the light of the process of reform taking place in Eastern Europe, the Council of Europe is considering new prospects for cooperation with the countries of Eastern Europe, in particular in the fields of the promotion of human rights and the development of pluralist democracy.

In this interview, Catherine Lalumière, former Secretary General of the Council of Europe, describes this institution’s political revival following the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, in particular through its support for the democratisation of the countries of the former Communist bloc.

On 9 October 1993, the Heads of State or Government of the member states of the Council of Europe, meeting in Vienna, adopt a Declaration which confirms the organisation’s pan-European vocation and sets out new political priorities, including the protection of national minorities and the fight against all forms of racism, xenophobia and intolerance.

On 10 and 11 October 1997, the Heads of State or Government of the member States of the Council of Europe, meeting in Strasbourg at the organisation’s Second Summit, define their priorities following the enlargement of the Council of Europe to encompass 40 member States.

At the Council of Europe’s second Summit, held on 10 and 11 October 1997 in Strasbourg, the Heads of State or Government of the organisation’s member States draw up an Action Plan annexed to the Final Declaration which seeks to define the main tasks for the Council of Europe in the coming years, particularly in the run-up to its 50th anniversary.

Group photo of the Heads of State or Government of the member States of the Council of Europe taken at their meeting in Strasbourg on 10 and 11 October 1997 on the occasion of that organisation’s Second Summit.

Meeting in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May 2005 for the organisation’s Third Summit, the Heads of State or Government of the member states of the Council of Europe undertake to promote the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law and to guarantee cultural diversity, security and the fight against discrimination. In the implementation of these core objectives, the complementarity of the Council of Europe and other organisations must be ensured.

On the occasion of the Council of Europe’s Third Summit, held in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May 2005, the Heads of State or Government of the organisation’s member States draw up an Action Plan, annexed to the Final Declaration, in order to establish the principal tasks of the Council of Europe in the next few years.

Table of the Polish Presidency of the third Council of Europe Summit, held in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May 2005. From left to right: Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland, and Marek Belka, Prime Minister.

The evolution of the Council of Europe

Photo of the press conference held in Warsaw at the third Council of Europe Summit of 16 and 17 May 2005. From left to right: René van der Linden, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Terry Davis, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, and Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland.

In an address given in Warsaw on 17 May 2005 at the closing session of the Third Summit of the Heads of State or Government of the member States of the Council of Europe, Terry Davis, Secretary General of the organisation, reviews the outcome of the Summit.

On 17 May 2005, reporting on the Third Council of Europe Summit, which opened in Warsaw the previous day, the French daily newspaper Le Monde outlines the implications of a meeting devoted to strengthening the organisation’s political mandate and to the definition of its scope vis-à-vis that of the European Union.

On 18 May 2005, the day after the conclusion of the Third Council of Europe Summit, held in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May, the daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort comments on a meeting that was primarily marked by the issue of the clarification of the Council of Europe’s role in the hierarchy of the European organisations and, in particular, by its need to redefine its relations with the European Union.

On 1 July 2005, this article published in the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the influence of Russia, a member of the Council of Europe since 1996, in exacerbating the identity crisis that the organisation is experiencing at the turn of the 21st century.

On 11 April 2011, at the second part of the 2011 Ordinary Session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland highlights the new political challenges facing the Council of Europe and emphasises the need to complete the reform of the organisation.